2019 Health Plan Compliance Deadlines

Submitted by Jessica Dunbar on Mon, 02/11/2019 - 10:55

Employers must comply with numerous reporting and disclosure requirements throughout the year in connection with their group health plans. This Compliance Overview explains key 2019 compliance deadlines for employer-sponsored group health plans. It also outlines group health plan notices that employers must provide annually. Often, employers furnish these notices with the plan’s enrollment materials during its annual open enrollment period.

Some of the compliance deadlines summarized below are tied to a group health plan’s plan year. For these requirements, the chart below shows the deadline that applies to calendar year plans. For non-calendar year plans, these deadlines will need to be adjusted to reflect each plan’s specific plan year.

Determining the Plan Year

The “plan year” is the calendar, policy or fiscal year on which the records of the plan are kept. Many employers operate their group health plans on a calendar year basis, from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 of each year. Other employers operate their plans on a non-calendar year basis, which may be consistent with the company’s taxable year or with an insured plan’s policy year.